Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman LISA SWAIN
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
District 37 (Bergen)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits expenditure of State funds in states with restrictive abortion laws.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act prohibiting the expenditure of State funds in any state that prohibits an abortion in nearly all cases or in cases when a fetal heartbeat is detectable and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, no department, division, office, board, bureau, commission, authority, or other instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, including any public institution of higher education that receives State funds, shall expend State funds to:
make a purchase from any public entity or business entity having its principal place of business in any state that prohibits abortion in nearly all cases or in cases when a fetal heartbeat is detectable; or
pay or reimburse the cost of travel by any State officer or employee to be paid, in whole or in part, with or out of State funds, or to be otherwise sponsored by the State, to any state that prohibits abortion in nearly all cases or in cases when a fetal heartbeat is detectable, including, but not limited to, the cost of attending any conference held in that state.
b. The provisions of subsection a. of this section shall not apply to any sporting event involving public institutions of higher education that receive State funds, or to an expenditure of State funds that is necessary due to an emergency, for law enforcement purposes, or to protect the public’s health, safety, or welfare.
c. The provisions of this section shall be effective until any prohibition on abortion in nearly all cases or in cases when a fetal heartbeat is detectable is deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States or repealed by that state.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
The purpose of this bill is to respond to certain laws enacted in certain states that infringe on women’s rights in violation of decisions of the United States Supreme Court. The bill prohibits any department, division, office, board, bureau, commission, authority, or other instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, including any public institution of higher education that receives State funds, from expending State funds to do the following:
1) making a purchase from any
public entity or business entity having its principal place of business in any
state that prohibits
abortion in nearly all cases or in cases when a fetal heartbeat is detectable; or
2) paying or reimbursing for travel by any public officer or employee to be paid, in whole or in part, with or out of State funds or to be otherwise sponsored by the State, to any state that prohibits abortion in nearly all cases or in cases when a fetal heartbeat is detectable, including, but not limited to, any conference held in that state.
Under the bill, the use of state funds in states such as Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, and Ohio will be prohibited due to the enactment of such laws.
The bill provides that this prohibition will not apply to any sporting event involving public institutions of higher education that receive State funds, or to an expenditure of State funds that is necessary due to an emergency, for law enforcement purposes, or to protect the public’s health, safety, or welfare.